Detour
by Goth-Punk88
Summary: Current Drabble: -Hide&Seek- The thing with those two, was that Sasuke always went off his way to go looking for her whenever she stormed off -SasuKarin, now turned into a drabble series. Manga Spoilers up to the current chapters
1. Detour I: Trust

Wrote this quite a while ago, thought it was about time to post it. I actually have a considerable number of SasuKarin drabbles and short oneshots, sometimes just moments between them that I've been thinking of posting as a drabble collection. This might as well become it, but I'm not sure yet.

Please don't hesitate to review and tell me if you are interested in reading more pieces like this. I'm really interested in reading your feedback. The title is also tentative, since I'm not quite sure I'll make this a drabble series or not.

But, **NO. FLAMES. ABOUT. SASUKARIN.**

That was for the flamers. Now, people who can actually express their opinions rationally and have something constructive in them, are more than welcomed. Though I really, really do not care to hear about why someone doesn't like SasuKarin, but the point stands.

And of course, this scene takes place when Sasuke arrives to Konoha [whenever that might be], somewhere after chapter 431. So, spoilers ahead.

* * *

**Something beautiful, among the broken**

By: Kanae

* * *

His command had been simple enough.

"Split."

The action that followed was simple enough as well.

"You come with me."

Karin blinked. Taken aback, she fought down the blush that threatened to spread across her cheeks and clung to the surprise instead as she stared at the hand firmly grasping her wrist.

"Why?"

She had asked, curious. Sasuke turned, starting to walk forward.

"We'll watch each other's back."

After a beat, Karin started to follow after him.

* * *

Among the chaos, Sasuke lead the way; walking tall and unperturbed a blink of a step ahead of her. But truthfully, it was Karin the one that directed them, much like the conductor of an orchestra; telling what roads should be taken and what corners to avoid.

Absentmindedly, she was aware of the sensitive skin of her wrist tingling where his fingers had lingered; heat emanating from it and expanding through her arms toward her upper body.

The sensation reminded her of the conflicting emotions on her heart and the confusing thoughts in her mind as she walked forward, but she forced herself to shut them out and focus on the hundreds of different chakra signatures moving frantically around them instead. This was not the right time, nor the right place to consider such thoughts or dwell on such feelings; later—later she'd have enough time to think things through, and depending on the conclusions she reached, she'd speak her mind to Sasuke.

But for now—for now she had work to do.

"The street ahead is crowed. I can also detect some of the people that were in the group tracking us back in that forest. What now?"

Sasuke gave her a sideways glance. Their shoulders touched as he halted.

"We take a detour."

* * *

Said detour had consisted of jumping onto the nearest building and going the opposite direction; rounding two rights, one left and going forward for a minute or two. The more they moved in that direction, _wherever_ it was they were headed to—the farther they left the mixing chakra signatures and the closer they became to be almost alone.

Almost, because Karin would still feel everything around them. The chaos could be heard, as well.

Regardless, when they suddenly stop and Sasuke stands still for a long moment, Karin decides to ignore the rest of the world.

"What is it, Sasuke?"

He doesn't answer immediately; instead looks up toward the sign hanging above the closed entrance of the street they were standing in front of. Karin imitates his action, and with slight surprise recognizes the symbol of the Uchiha clan right atop of it.

The realization makes her rephrase her question.

"_Where_ are we, Sasuke?"

This time, his answer reaches her at the same time he gives an step forward.

"…My home." Karin watches as he cuts through the ropes forsaking the entrance with a single swing of his sword, "…What _used_ to be my home."

* * *

As she steps inside, it's as if a freezing veil of water had been wrapped around her; it's ridiculous, she thinks, how she has a hard time breathing and has to struggle to do so as they make their way along the empty streets. The signs of destruction and broken pieces of what used to be happy memories still being all too visible, all too easy to feel.

For a moment, Karin wondered—_if this is hard for me, then just how hard must it be for Sasuke?_—quietly, in the confines of her mind. She knew better than to voice her thoughts aloud; if he felt the need to do so, he'd speak by himself. There was no point in pressuring him in things he wished to ignore. Things he wished to pretend he was unaware of.

Karin understood that. She understood it well.

So she simply skipped one step and stood tall by Sasuke's side; subtly leaned toward him. Their fingers brushed as they walked.

Sasuke didn't move away. Neither did Karin.

* * *

"My Clan," Sasuke says all of a sudden, out of nowhere as they round a corner, and Karin stops trying to discern just how big the house they were heading to was and signals that she is listening instead. "Used to be the Police force of Konoha. They were a very strong clan, well-known and respected on the outside; and in the inside, they were hard-workers. Everyone knew each other, they were all close."

A pause. Something foreign is mixed and added to his walk.

"My brother and I were the only children of the head of the Clan. Everyone was always on the lookout for us; gave us all the help we needed, and in return, expected great things from us both. Especially from my brother, who was a genius."

"Just like you."

"I wanted," continues Sasuke, not paying heed to Karin's unexpected interruption. "To be just like him. Just like my brother; more than my father, my brother was the role model. He was everything I wanted to be, everything I wanted to surpass. I lived for the sole purpose of becoming greater than him in every possible way."

They enter the house. It's not hard for Karin to figure out this was the place where Sasuke used to live; for a moment, she thinks she can picture him running around the empty halls, a smile on his face, laughter in his eyes.

But then she is reminded of the lost, little boy standing close to her and she decides there was no use picturing things that could never be again.

There was no point in mourning over spilled water. That, she knew well.

"One day," they stop in front of a very large room. The black doors hiding the contents from curious eyes opened with a loud creak as Sasuke slowly parted them. She can't help the widening of her eyes as she notices the fading blood stains on the floor. "I came back late, only to find everyone slaughtered on the streets. I arrived here just in time to see my brother killing my father. My mom was already dead."

Sasuke makes as pause, as if waiting for her to say something.

Karin remains silent.

There was nothing that could have been said.

"Afterward—afterward my purpose in life wasn't just to surpass my brother; but to _kill_ him. Kill him and avenge my Clan. Avenge the blood he had spilled."

"…Even then," Karin says; more a statement than a question. "You loved him, didn't you?"

Sasuke looks at her for a long moment before closing his eyes. He walks forward, stands on the center of the room. The fading drawings of fallen loved ones clearly visible under his feet.

Karin finds the scene beautiful. Tragic, but beautiful.

"… He had lied to me all along. I grew up in a lie; every smile, every caress, every word had been a very intricate deceit that Itachi had planned from the start. I hated him; I despised him with every fiber of my being—

"—And I despised him even more because my love for him was as great as my hate was."

His admission is silent; haunted. And Karin realizes that this was probably the first time Sasuke had ever said this to anyone. Perhaps even, the first time he had been this honest with himself.

She resists the urge to step closer to him; her inward battle doesn't last long, for Sasuke turns around and his eyes meet hers.

The breath gets caught in her throat as she sees the emotions swirling behind those endless pools of black, but she tries to remain unaffected on the outside.

"And now, now I know that what I was fooled to believe was a lie was the truth. And what I clung to as the truth was nothing but a cruel, white lie. Safe, but cruel none the less. Just like this place." He looks around, past the walls and into things and memories and feelings that Karin cannot see.

"…It makes you feel safe, by locking you up inside its four walls. But the truth is, once you get out from them and see the outside world for yourself, the reality is more painful. And you realize that you were being lead on all along. And there's nothing left to do but to hate the people, the place that was fucking you up.

"…Do you understand now, Karin?" He asks her, as his eyes fall on hers again. "Do you understand now, why I wish to destroy this place? Why I want them to taste at least an ounce of the pain I've been feeling all along?"

"Do you understand, Karin?"

_Do you understand me? Do you think I'm right? Can you justify me and dissipate any doubt I might have?_

The underlying meaning behind his words doesn't pass unnoticed, and lingers between them alongside the silence of the room in the long moment that Karin takes to search his eyes. To search his eyes and harden her own with the answer—the _only_ answer she could have ever given him.

"Yes."

There's something old and dark that leaves his eyes and something new that shines in them in the moment he hears her words, but it's gone as he blinks and nods at her.

"Then let's go. We've detoured for long enough."

* * *

"Just _where_ are we heading to, Sasuke?"

Karin asks, realizing that even though she's as aware as always of her surroundings and is jumping fast through the rooftops, she has yet to hear what their destination is.

"The Hokage's tower."

She blinks, arching one eyebrow and giving him a questioning glance that he doesn't bother to answer.

"Do you really think those old hags will be there? The towers are always the first thing to be targeted, they should have evacuated already."

"They _will_ be there," Sasuke states, with a security strong as steel. "They're senile, selfish, careless, vain and conceited; they won't leave their little home. It would be like a loss for them. And they are nothing without the supposed power they have."

"…But that's okay, it just makes things easier for us."

She couldn't see his eyes, but she didn't need to; she was sure they had narrowed as his voice darkened.

"…I'll make them pay."

Karin said nothing.

* * *

They had moved through the obstacles as if they weren't there at all; Sasuke had no time to waste, and had ignored everyone—even those who fought hard not to be ignored, like the pink-haired girl fighting to gain time as the blonde one fought for all their lives—and had reached his destination.

He had been right. The elders were there.

Once again, Karin remained silent as Sasuke smirked; a predator's smirk. Aggressive. Intimidating. _Lethal_.

"I've found you."

* * *

People were yelling around her; demanding, begging Sasuke to stop. But as he stood there, the old man's neck held in a deadly grip as the other two elders watched in quiet horror, it was as if they weren't there at all.

The noises shot up drastically as he drew his sword, but Karin did not join them. She just waited, stared on and waited for something—for a sign to tell her what she should or shouldn't do.

The sign arrived in the form of a split second hesitation of Sasuke's wrist as the sword descended towards the old man's neck. The hesitation had been brief and barely noticeable; but for Karin, for Karin it had meant all the difference in the world.

It had been all she had been waiting for. What she had been expecting from the start.

So she spoke; spoke in a voice that should have been impossible to hear among the desperate screams but that he heard either way.

"_That's enough, Sasuke_."

The air around her seemed to halt at the same time he did; she could feel the relieved breaths on her neck, the shocked stares on her back—but her eyes never left the back of Sasuke's head.

"That's enough, Sasuke."

She repeated less loudly, but just as sternly. Just as commanding.

Red met crimson.

His eyes were deadly enough without adding his tone of voice; regardless, Karin doesn't back down. She stands tall, proud, and angry.

"Leave it already. You've done enough."

The tomoe of his sharingan swirl dangerously.

"Enough, you say?" and his voice is as lethal as his stare. As the sword he still held at a breath's distance of the man's neck. "How can it be enough when these monsters are still alive?"

Karin's eyes narrow. "Look around you. Is this really not enough?"

"What is this about, Karin?" he asks, with indignant disbelief. "I wasn't aware you cared about sparing people's lives."

"I don't," Karin says, brutally honestly. "But _you_ do."

There's a slight widen of his eyes as her words make it through to him; but he narrows them again in a split second. "… I thought you understood me. I thought you supported my goals."

"And I do understand. _But open your eyes_, Sasuke!" Karin suddenly explodes , her arms uncrossing as emotion took over her careless façade. "Do you really think you'll be able to live with yourself if you kill this man right now? No matter how much you hate him, you _don't_ kill people. That's just not like you!"

"This is different!"

He snaps back without missing a beat. But Karin wouldn't have it.

"How come? Blood is blood. Taking a life is committing the same sin regardless of whose it was. If you do this right now, Sasuke, you won't be able to live with yourself." She makes a pause, hardens her gaze and narrows her eyes, "You and I both know it."

Sasuke averts his eyes, remains silent and Karin finds herself holding her breath against her better judgment.

And then Sasuke turns his back on her and faces the elders again. And the breath Karin had been holding is let free in the form of a tired sigh.

"Then this is as far as I'll go."

Sasuke's shoulders tense as his eyes widen with disbelief; he turns toward her so fast that the sword drops a quarter of an inch and makes the old man hold his breath in fright.

"…What are you saying, Karin?"

"What you heard. If you don't stop this nonsense right now, I'll leave." There's no space for doubt or hesitation in her voice or stance; she means what she's saying. "Even if it's empty, the southern base is still my home. I could find a way to get is back to how it used to be."

"… You wouldn't."

She almost snorts, amused. "Oh, you _bet_ I would." But the amusement behind her eyes dies as she gets serious once again. "I joined this team for you, Sasuke. If you could truly deal with it, I myself would help you slaughter as many cities as you wished; but you _can't_. And I prefer to go my own way before having a part in how you destroy yourself."

It was an important admittance; much more for her, the kind of girl who hated to wear her emotions on her sleeve and hides behind a façade of rough indifference. Confess, directly or indirectly, so openly and with her own words just how much she cares was a new low for her.

Sasuke seemed to be aware of that, because his expression and eyes are open enough to allow her to read him. So that when he averts them and stares thoughtfully at the floor, Karin already has an idea of what was going through his mind; she allows herself to relax her tensed body.

Her lips start to curve upward in a smile the moment Sasuke's sword is lowered.

"…I understand."

He says, his voice devoid of emotions and his face of feeling as he looks down at the small and insignificant man in front of him. "These people aren't worth me dirtying my hands for them."

Behind him, Karin's smile turns into a smirk.

As if feeling her, he turns around. His eyes met hers only when he's standing right in front of her, their bodies so close that they were almost touching.

"Let's go, Karin. Let's find Suigetsu and Juugo and get out of here."

There are whispers of surprise around them, and Karin tries to hide the pride and adoration behind her smile but fails miserably; they come out twisted, and the tug in her smile is somewhat crooked. But Sasuke knows that she means it more than she means any of those cutting words and conflicting gestures she has ever given him before.

"Thought you'd never say it."

She says, and Sasuke finds himself returning her smile.

They leave the room, together.

Neither of them turns back.

* * *

**end**.

SasuKarin for the win. There's something about them and this weird and dysfunctional intimacy they share that entices me. They would be one hell of a pairing, in quite a lot of senses, which I'm more than willing and eager to explore in the next few pieces I'll hopefully get around to upload.

Forgot to say that english is not my native langue, so please point out any mistake!

Thank you for reading, and looking forward to hearing your rewiews.


	2. Detour II: Red

Thank you all for your reviews, I enjoyed reading your thoughts and am glad you seemed to find the previous chapter enjoyable as well. Like you guys can notice, I decided to indeed turn this into a drabble series. As such, there's a change in the name of the story as well, hope you don't mind but I believe this suits them better.

After all, this is what this story is about. So it'll go back and forth between the present and the past as I see fit.

This drabble here will focus on the canon events surrounding Karin's meeting with Orochimaru; or at least, what's known about them from her databook entry. I decided to explore them a bit, so here is more or less how I envision it went.

Let's hope Kishimoto will show it in a flashback sometime soon. I'd love to see SasuKarin's first encounter.

That said, enjoy! And also, please don't forget to review; each and every single one of those is highly appreciated. As for flamers, please go back to the first chapter and read the bolded letters. The same applies to the rest of the story.

* * *

**Red.**

**- -  
**

Sasuke x Karin

* * *

He wondered why Orochimaru had insisted on taking a detour; why all of a sudden the sannin had started to lick his lips, grin in a way that even then still managed to disturb him.

The motive made itself obvious as soon as they entered the demolished village, and the boy hadn't been able to resist rolling his eyes out of annoyance; _of course_ Orochimaru would want to drop by a place like this, the mere thought of it probably made his blood burn with excitement and delight.

That was the first time Sasuke laid his eyes on her.

They had found her once they turned a right and walked straight into a particularly bloody alley; there were corpses everywhere, dismembered bodies laying even in places the eye couldn't reach, dark reds staining the streets and the walls. Around such an horrid sight, it wasn't hard at all to spot her.

A girl, around his age. Standing alone at the furthest corner of the alley. Her clothes were perfectly clean, not even a drop of blood in them. It was as if it all had been absorbed by the red hair that fell cleanly across her back.

"My, my… look what we have here. What happened, girl?"

Sasuke sent a nasty glare at his current sensei from the corner of his eyes; there was not even the barest attempt at hiding his enjoyment at the sight he was seeing.

_It made him sick._

"Isn't it obvious? They were all murdered! Every _single_ one of them was!"

When Sasuke looks towards her again, she is facing them. Her eyes are covered by black-rimmed glasses, the pale colors of her skin brought up by the fiery red of her unruly hair.

Sasuke thinks she is quite the sight. No that he particularly cared about such matters, but neither was he blind.

Orochimaru laughs openly, probably amused at the girl's bold answer, Sasuke guesses. The guy was a weirdo, no point trying to deduce what was going through that sick head of his.

"That's not what I wanted to know. _How_ did you survive? You are from this village, aren't you?"

The red-head clenches her fists, and spitefully glares at the nearest wall.

"…_I __left_"

"Hmmm…?"

"I left, alright?!" The fiery girl is suddenly spitting out, pretty features contorted in pure anger. It was obvious that she did not know just _whom_ she was screaming at in such way. "I felt there was a tremendous amount of people coming, and left! I ran for my life! Left them all behind!"

He observes her intently, taken in by the changes in her expression; he could not see her eyes from where he was standing, but the way her lips and eyebrows contorted was more than enough to give him a guess at the look they had. By his side, Orochimaru's tone of voice suddenly changes.

He is interested. _In what_? Sasuke doesn't know. But for her own good, he hopes it wasn't in her.

"My, how did you manage to get out of their reach in time? Any skilled shinobi surely must have--"

"—I had a day to run"

Orochimaru's eyes widen, and inwardly, Sasuke shakes his head at her answer.

_She just screwed herself._

"So, you felt them… even though they were _a day_ away?"

Her eyes narrow dangerously once again; probably sensing the way the air around the sannin had changed. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Come with me"

Orochimaru says so breathlessly, excitedly liking his lips.

"What? No! _Absolutely_ no!"

She looks freaked out; Sasuke can't blame her.

"There's nothing else for you here, child. If they come back for you, you're dead. If you come with me though, I can teach you… I can help you become stronger… I'll give you food and a roof, will warrant you power… You'll have none of those in this ruined village"

The girl seemed to hesitate for a breath, but then the ugly scowl was back on her face and the angriness on her voice.

"I don't care. There's _no_ way I'm leaving! It doesn't matter if I die here, I'll manage!"

Orochimaru is talking once again, but his voice is drown out by Sasuke's thoughts. By Sasuke's memories.

As he watches her now, he remembers himself. Remembers the little, lost child standing amidst a riot of bodies; remembers the helplessness, the terror, the agony, the _grief…_.

He remembers how he wouldn't accept being taken away from the Uchiha compound. Remembers how he yelled and screamed at everyone to leave him alone; to stop trying to help him, when he didn't need anyone's help.

He remembered, so he understood. He _knew_.

He knew what was waiting for the girl if she stayed here; he knew how she sometimes would imagine their voices, calling out and cursing her for letting them die—_for not dying along with them_—how she'd end up hating herself because of it. How she would be able to see them, walking by; how it'd slowly drive her to the edge.

She wouldn't be able to stand that. _Nobody_ would. Regardless of how masochist one can be, there's only so much one could take, and this was definitely over any person's limits.

Sasuke at least knew that much.

Their eyes meet for the first time as he gets a hold of her sleeve—there is surprise in her eyes, _how did I not sense him coming?!_ was probably what she was frantically asking herself. There was no such thing as surprise in his though. But he _is_ taken aback, behind the unwavering calmness of those eyes of his.

He never expected her to have red eyes, as well. As he watches them, he wonders if he was wrong, back then_._

_The blood was probably absorbed by her eyes instead of her hair_.

"W—wha_…_ _What_ are you doing?! Let go of me!" With a brusque movement, she frees herself of his grasp—but he would have nothing of that, and with a quick flip of his hand he has her caught by the wrist, and this time, he adds enough force to let her know that she was not going anywhere.

He gives her a second or two to stop struggling against his hold before speaking.

"_Come_"

He hears a chuckle behind him; _unmistakably Orochimaru's_—but he disregards it, instead focusing on meeting those red eyes head-on.

She frowns, gives a slight tug to her arm to try and free herself but to no avail. "Why would I? This is my home, _my_—!"

"Don't be stubborn. That man is right, there's nothing else left for you in here" The red-head opens her mouth, without a doubt to protest but Sasuke is faster than her.

"No matter what you do, you won't be able to change what happened. No matter how long you stay, the blood stains on the floors will be there all the same—no matter how much you wash your hands, no matter how badly you try to make up for it—the blood and the guilt will remain there. You staying here will amount to nothing. But you leaving, _might_"

Her lips are parted as she stares at him with slightly widened eyes and mouth agape—Sasuke takes this as a good sign, and prepares to give the final strike.

"If you leave, and keep living… you'll be able to avenge them. You'll be able to take revenge for the lives that were wasted in here. If you become powerful enough, you'll be able to atone for your sins—for your mistakes"

He waits a long moment, letting the words sink in her brain; letting her think them over, go through her options, before pushing her. If things came to worse, he'd probably end up knocking her out and allowing Orochimaru to take her with him. From the man's expression, he was interested in her enough to keep her alive. That was enough.

"…You…" She says suddenly, breaking him out of his thoughts. Slowly, she raises her eyes and meets his again; this time, her expression is calmer, thoughtful. Suspicious. "You seem to know a lot about how I'm feeling…. _How_?"

Sasuke's grip on her wrist tightens without his notice.

"That's not important right now. What matters is what you chose. So, which one is it—"

"—_Karin_"

Sasuke stares, taken aback. The girl gives him something between a scowl and a smile.

_From what he could see, she probably had a pretty smile._

"The name is Karin"

He nods. "I'm Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke"

There's a flicker of something in her eyes as he finishes introducing himself, but it is gone as quickly as it comes and he has to wonder whether he imagined it altogether. He decides to pretend he saw nothing.

"What are you going to do, Karin?"

The name leaves a funny taste on his mouth as it rolls out his tongue. Karin, though, remains unfazed; eyes focused intently on the ground before raising and meeting his with fiery determination.

"Alright" She says, "I'll come with you"

He nods, pleased, and finally lets go of her wrist. Without telling her another word he turns around and starts to walk back towards Orochimaru, who lets out a bone-chilling laugh as he approaches him, Karin on Sasuke's tail.

"We are not going to take any other detours, Orochimaru. I've already lost enough of my time today"

Orochimaru disregards his words, a crooked smirk on his long lips. "My, my, Sasuke-kun; I never thought you'd have such a way with words"

Sasuke gives him the best death-glare he could muster.

"_Save it"_

_- -_

_

* * *

_

Tried to keep them as IC as posible as well as to show the starts of what I believe to be what ignited their bond: Mutual understanding since they have a common ground.

Did I succeed at portraying that? You all are the judge.

How about you all? How do _you_ think Sasuke and Karin's first encounter went? I'm looking forward to hear your theories, so please do not hesitate to leave a review with them!


	3. Detour III: Fuck

Thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews, and my apologies for the lateness! This one right here is about Sasuke discovering for the first time, her bitemarks. More about this issue will probably come out later, but for now, I hope you all enjoy this one.

* * *

**Fuck.**

Sasuke x Karin

* * *

"GODDAMNIT WHY DOESN'T HE _**DIE**_ ALREADY?!"

"In a good mood, I see"

Karin stops dead in her tracks, noticing for the first time that she wasn't alone and that there was someone else in her office. That _he_ was in her office.

From the place he was comfortably sitting in, Sasuke Uchiha snorts amusedly at the red-head. She must be in a _really_ bad mood, bad enough to not have picked up on his chakra signature as he approached the base.

"Just when did you get here?"

She asks, still staring at him with slightly widened eyes even though her expression was more curious than surprised now. Sasuke leans his arms across the back of the comfy coach.

"Half an hour ago"

"Damnit" Karin curses under her breath, no longer paying attention to his presence and instead focusing on what she had been about to do before she noticed he was there. "That jackass, always making me waste my time"

"Who?" He asks, a little intrigued. Sure, the red-head had a bad-temper and a nasty tongue, but most of the time she enjoyed her job—_to an unhealthy extent_; Sasuke would sometimes conclude to himself.

She doesn't turn towards him, sorting through some papers that she has just thrown on her desk. "That bastard Suigetsu, _obviously_! Who else? Since he got here, all he has done is annoy the hell out of me! Seriously, I wish I could just let him die or _something_!" Karin suddenly halts, raises her head and even though he can't see her full-face from where he's sitting, Sasuke can guess the kind of dangerous-spark that was on her eyes. "Perhaps… if I make it look like an accident… things like this _have_ happened before—"

The Uchiha decided to cut off her train of thought before she got too carried away with it. God knows what she could do.

Besides, she had sparked his interested when she mentioned that name. It sounded familiar, for some reason or another.

"That Suigetsu guy," He started deliberately slowly, and continued only when he was sure he had her attention, "How is he?"

"A royal pain, that's what he is!"

Sasuke rolls his eyes. "I didn't mean _that_, Karin. _Why_ is he here? If Orochimaru told you to conduct experiments on him, there must be a reason"

"Yeah, yeah" Karin waves one hand carelessly, taking importance out of the matter as she once again returned to her previously discarded paperwork. "He is one of the 7 swordsmen of the mist, apparently. The only interesting thing about him is that he can turn his body into water—I'm supposed to find out _how_ he manages to do that, and create a way to use it to Orochimaru's advantage. But working with a jackass like him is impossible! I don't give a damn if he can turn himself into a walking jelly-fish, I want him _dead_ damnit!"

Sasuke ignored her passionate outburst, focusing instead on the interesting bits of information she had just given to him.

_One of the seven swordsmen, huh?_

"So, do you consider him strong?"

"Strong? He's a fucking _clown_!"

"_Karin_"

There's a clear warning in his voice, and Karin turns to look at him, pushes her glasses further up her nose. "…Yeah, I guess he is. Nothing too impressive though. _Why_ are you so intent in finding out stuff about him, Sasuke? What interest can you possibly have on someone like him?"

Like always, Karin doesn't miss a beat. Sasuke still hasn't figured out whether or not he likes that quality of hers.

"Nothing you need to know about, Karin"

She glares at him through her glasses, rosy lips curving down into an expression that was half-frown, half-pout. In a normal situation, Sasuke would have changed the subject before she had the enough time to charge and lash out at him; but this time though, there was something that caught his eye.

"Karin, what is that?"

There's a certain something Sasuke can't pinpoint that flickers through her eyes, but before he can even react she has closed them and is walking towards the cabinet in the left corner of the room.

"What is _what_?"

She asks back, feigning ignorance. But Sasuke knows better than that; he had seen the way she had subtly pulled her sleeve down, and that was enough for him to know that she was very much aware of what he was talking about.

"_Karin_"

"What is it, Sasuke? I'm a little busy as you can see, so if there's nothing you want from me I'd much rather you'd—" But Sasuke would have nothing of it. Before Karin had enough time to react, Sasuke was already behind her; had already grabbed her hand and raised her arm, pulled up her sleeve.

Karin's eyes widened with surprise, and then narrowed with rage. Sasuke's though, Sasuke's remained taken aback by surprise.

"Damnit, Sasuke! What the hell do you think you're doing?! _Let me go_!"

"What is this, Karin?" He demands, rather rudely; his eyes are narrowed now, but they're emanating an emotion completely different from Karin's own. They intimidated her, stopped her struggles to break free and pull down her sleeve in less than a second; forced her to avert her eyes, focus them anywhere but him.

Whenever he got that look in his eyes, it could only mean two things for her; either she'd be _very_ turned on. Or _very _troubled. Sometimes both.

This time though, it was only the later.

"What _is_ this_?_" The Uchiha demands once again, tightening his hold on her wrist. Karin cringes inwardly, but doesn't protest.

"What do they look like, Sasuke?"

"Bite marks"

"That's _exactly_ what they are"

His eyes widen a little further in disbelief, but Karin merely sighs.

"Let me go, Sasuke"

"Who did this? _Who_ did this to you?"

Sasuke's tone of voice is dangerous; that she knows. He was probably being overwhelmed by rage, deep down; knowing all too well what was going on. Still, she can't bring herself to try and calm him down—there was no point anyway. Sasuke was not that easy to tame.

With a half-heartened pull, Karin frees herself from his hold.

"It wasn't just one person. That I can assure you"

His eyes narrow even more, and for an instant she believes she sees a flash of crimson behind them—she decides she'd better explain things a little better for him. He may not be easy to tame, but there was no point to enrage him even further either.

"I can _heal_ people, Sasuke. If they suck my chakra, they heal instantly. Aren't I great?"

"You've been using it during experiments, haven't you?"

Karin curses inwardly. Sasuke catches onto things way too fast.

"It's the only way to make them hold on longer. I really don't mind"

"So it doesn't hurt?"

There's a clear challenge in his eyes; he knows the truth. He is daring her to lie. He is daring her to give him a reason to be mad at her, to let out his frustration and feel justified afterwards—to feel justified about feeling this strongly about something else aside from his revenge—_about someone else other than Itachi_.

But Karin wouldn't play his game.

She appreciated his concern; but she did **not** _need_ it. She wasn't a little girl, and she could watch out for herself. She did not need, or _want_ Sasuke looking out for her. He had his own issues to worry about; and as far as she knew, it was for something similar that he had left his previous home. She was not going to make the same mistakes _they_ did. She was going to make Sasuke respect her, admire her; _never_ doubt or pity her.

That's what she had promised herself, and him. And she wouldn't back down now that she had gotten this far.

So it's with that in mind, that she gives him a careless shrug.

"I can bear with it just fine"

She isn't surprised when she hears the low growl he couldn't quite contain, neither is she surprised when he picks up his sword and crosses the room faster than one can blink.

As such, she isn't surprised when he halts by the door.

"You keep letting yourself be used by them, Karin. Keep letting that freak Kabuto experiment on you. You'll regret it later"

She feels a certain warmness envelope her, and can't help but to surround herself with it. Still, it's with a cocky and playful smirk that she answers his obvious display of concern.

"Could it be that you're jealous, Sasuke?" His body gets rigid, and she enlarges her smirk for getting such an obvious response from him, reaches for her glasses and gets them out of the way "You can bite me whenever and _wherever_ you want, you know?"

He doesn't say anything for a long moment.

And then he opens the door.

"Fuck you, Karin"

As she watches it slam close behind him, Karin can't help but to allow her smirk to turn into a love-sick smile.

"I'd much rather _you _fuck me, though…"

- -

* * *

This time I wanted to portray Karin with that naughtiness that characterizes her, let's hope I succeeded and both characters were IC enough.

As always, looking forward to hearing your thoughts! Thanks for reading!


	4. Detour IV: Reasons

I've had this one written since chapter 415 came out. Since we're currently at chapter 457, that means a year has gone by. I didn't post it back when I first wrote it, because I was waiting to see if Kishimoto showed the aftermath himself; but since he didn't, here you go!

Now to clear your memory about; chapter 415 is the epitome of SasuKarin, the end of the fight against the Hachibi. Where Karin saves Sasuke's life for the second time through the battle, and saves Suigetsu's and Juugo's too while she's at it. But because of that, she cannot make it out of there fast enough; Sasuke realizes that, and quickly reacts but his action backfires and Karin ends up being burned with Amateratsu. At seeing this, Sasuke is frantic to go to her but Juugo stops him, claiming that they should leave her behind because she was done for, and if they stayed they'd die, too; Sasuke though, Sasuke would have nothing of it, and concentrates hard on saving her, calls her name inside his mind, and ends up awakening a new power thanks to his determination and desire of saving her.

Quite a wonderful chapter indeed.

Also, big thank yous to alll those who've reviewed the previous chapters! The two flamers who obviously don't know how to read and have too much free time on their hands, thank you as well for adding to the number of reviews! I laughed my ass off while reading your whining.

Without further ado, hope you all enjoy the chapter! It's set when Taka is on Akatsuki's base, recovering from their wounds.

* * *

**Reasons**

**- -**

Sasuke x Karin

* * *

Juugo and Suigetsu raised their heads the moment the room's door swiftly opened, a worn out Sasuke giving them a tired look as he closed it behind him. The Uchiha looked exhausted, a complete difference from the calm and composed façade he had stubbornly maintained in place as he spoke with Madara; there were purple bangs under his eyes thanks to the continuous blood loss, his clothes were torn to shreds, and his pale skin was colored by ugly bruises and angry-looking red scratches.

Suigetsu couldn't help but flinch as he watched him enter the room, his step wavering as he was careful not to lean too roughly on his left ankle. The water boy wondered briefly, as he sipped his drink, just when Sasuke had sprained it? Was it after the Hachibi turned into the beast inside of him or even before that?

"I see you woke up already. How are you feeling?"

Even his usual commanding and expressionless tone was strained with tiredness. Suigetsu made sure to memorize the sound, the sight he was seeing—who knew when someone would be able to reduce Sasuke to such a state again.

"I'm fine," He coolly assured, giving Sasuke a toothy smirk from the bed where he cheerfully sipped his water. "It'd take much more than that to take me down, you know? You though don't look so good yourself"

Sasuke disregarded him, focusing his attention on the child-like looking Juugo instead, who was worriedly staring at him from his place at the window.

"What about you, Juugo?"

"No need to worry about me"

Sasuke nodded, inwardly glad that they were both doing okay. It was slowly that he finally gave in to the first impulse he had gotten when he entered the room—slowly that he finally turned his head to the right and stared at the girl who was peacefully sleeping in the nearest bed, broken glasses placed on a table to her right, skilled hands carefully folded in her torso.

As he looked at her, Sasuke felt more tired than he had since the fight ended.

"How is Karin?"

"She hasn't woken up yet, but she doesn't seem to have any major injuries." Juugo explained, watching Sasuke's every movement, every change in his expression.

"I see"

The Uchiha said, eyes still glued to the red-head's form.

"You shouldn't worry about her, she will be fine. You should go and rest. Suigetsu is right, you don't look too good"

"I'm fine" Was Sasuke's simple answer as he grabbed the nearest chair, positioning it right besides Karin's bed. Juugo and Suigetsu exchanged stares as they watched the way the Uchiha leant in, eyes never leaving Karin's peaceful sleeping form.

-

* * *

"Ughh… what the hell…?"

Sasuke woke up with a start as the sound of her groggy voice reached his ears. The sudden way in which his sleepy body spurred into movement was painful, and he felt disoriented. _Just when had he fallen asleep?_

Still, his attention was focused on the waking girl, who was now on a sitting position and grabbing her head with one of her hands, apparently unaware of his presence as she was immersed in her own discomfort.

"Karin" He called out, successfully catching her attention and being regarded by a surprised look as her red eyes fell on his form. He wasted no time in asking the question that had troubled him for so long, before she had the time to pull herself together and interrupt him with sidetracking chatter "How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere?"

Karin stared at him for a moment longer before frowning as the events that had happened just a few hours ago returned all too vividly to her mind, "Ugh, what happened?"

"We beat the Hachibi"

"How did we do that? Last time I checked we were getting our asses thoroughly handed to us"

At least her tongue was as sharp as always; Sasuke surprised himself by finding comfort in that, even though he _did_ glare at her halfheartedly—she didn't need to remind him of how much he had underestimated that jinchuuriki.

"Amateratsu did the job"

Is his honest answer, and Karin closes her eyes, groans and grimaces as she lays herself back down on the bed. For a moment, Sasuke is scared that the pain has finally caught up to her—he leans forward, arm across her body on the other side of the bed, eyes carefully examining her expression—he is about to ask her how she was feeling once again, when she opened her eyes and spoke.

"How did I get knocked out?"

Sasuke's mouth closed, his eyes escaped her own and focused on a safe point besides her fiery hair—images flashed to his mind, his body being once again swelled by that horrible sense of guilt that he had learnt to despise along the years.

"…The Amateratsu caught _you_, too"

Karin blinks; once, twice, and suddenly she is no longer laying on the bed but sitting upright, and Sasuke barely has the time to move his arm and get out of the way to avoid a collision with her head as the red-head tries to twist her neck as much as she possibly can, feels up her naked back through the whole on her shirt with both hands.

She remembered, now.

"Weren't those supposed to be inextinguishable? Or was that just you hyping them up?"

He would have frowned, and sighed with disdain at the way she could so easily disregard him, mock him straight to his face. He _would_ have, were he not seeing all too vividly for the umpteenth time that day the image of the red-head laying on a pool of water, sinking more and more with each passing second; black flames burning from her back, eating her alive without mercy…

Karin stops trying to feel for any scars, and instead turns towards the silent Sasuke just in time to watch him opening his mouth.

"…I'm sorry, Karin"

She stares at him, taken aback, for a long time; no sound is made as she observes him, takes in his expression, the shame he could not quite hide.

Karin thinks he looks beautiful, then. Beautiful, honest. Heartbreakingly sad.

But she also thinks that said look does not match him; doesn't look right on the boy who was always so calm, so composed.

So when she speaks she is smirking, head tilted to one side, hair falling naughtily on her eyes.

"What are you apologizing for? Didn't you save me? I'd have burned to a crisp if it wasn't for you, right?"

He raises his head, meets her daring eyes with his angry ones. "And you wouldn't have been burned if I had been more careful. If only I had thought _before_—"

"—If you had hesitated, we'd be dead"

Karin's stare hardens and her voice turns serious; she is no longer trying to light up the mood, instead, she wants him to understand. She wants him to understand what he was supposed to have learnt by now; people _die_. Sacrifices have to be made. Your own life was more important than anyone else's.

That's how life was.

Regardless, she is the one who ends up averting her eyes.

"Where are my glasses?" She asks, sighing.

"…Karin,—"

"Where the—oh, shit!" Karin groans, taking her broken glasses from the night table and bringing them closer to her face for further exploration. "What a pain..."

"—_Karin_—"

"You should have left, Sasuke"

Once again, her serious eyes meet his; her glasses now lay forgotten in her hands.

"You risked your life, not to mention those two's in the off chance that you might have been able to save mine's? That's insane, Sasuke! You can't do that kind of thing!"

Sasuke's eyes narrows. "So, you're telling me you'd have left me behind, Karin?"

She is taken aback by his sudden question, opens and closes her mouth more than once trying to muster an answer—trying to come up with the right one.

At the end, she ends up saying the truth.

"…That's different"

Karin averts her eyes, pouts slightly as soft colors start to light up her pale cheeks.

"How?"

"It just _is_"

It's evident from her tone that she pretends to end the conversation there. But Sasuke would have none of that.

"It isn't, Karin"

"It _is_! My reasons for saving you are different than yours!"

Karin is breathing heavily, frowning, clutching her broken glasses with more force than what was truly necessary.

Sasuke returns her stare, unfazed, for a long moment; but then he closes his eyes and stands up.

"My reasons…" Karin watches him, as he pushes the chair back "Are no different than your own"

Her eyes widen as they meet his own.

"I assure you"

And then he's turning around, walking towards the door; so he misses how Karin's blush intensifies as she embarrassedly stares at the floor.

-

-

* * *

Does Sasuke even know what he's talking about? Who knows. That's a question for a different time!

As always, I'm looking forward to read your thoughts. So please do review!

See you all soon!


	5. Detour V: Hide&Seek

Hello everyone, my apologies for taking so long to update. Before shutting up and let you all read today's drabble, I want to come clean about something : This thing is _old_. As in very, very old. I think I wrote it almost a year or so ago, I can't remember it. I actually wanted to wait until I had written something new before updating this, but I felt bad so I decided to bring this little cracky thing forth.

This thing would be settled in the future, with Taka getting the end I hope for them; that is, Sasuke traveling around with them around the world and working under the Hokage, Naruto, much like Jiraiya did. Letting him know how things were and sending information to him, taking care of treats, etc.

Anyways, I hope it'll be enjoyable nonetheless. I promise next time, I'll bring something better and more recent.

Also, thank you to all those who took the time to review the previous chapter, I really enjoyed reading your thoughts!

* * *

-

**HIDE AND SEEK  
**

Sasuke x Karin

-

* * *

It seemed to be a unique effect she had on him; or perhaps simple thoughtfulness he had only with a single woman in the world. Her.

She was aware of it; Suigetsu doesn't doubt it for even a second. It was part of that manipulative, conniving personality of hers to take advantage of this sort of deal. Even more when such obvious displays of consideration were coming from no other than Sasuke.

Sasuke, the guy who betrayed his friends and left his village behind. Sasuke, the guy who didn't hesitate to push a chidori through the chest of his best friend. Sasuke, the selfish bastard who had chosen them all and grouped them together in order to use them. Sasuke, the asshole who tied the four of them together in a dysfunctional team that somewhere along the line became something scarily close to a home.

Sasuke probably felt the same way; it had to be for that reason that he chose them even over his old family. Over his old team. Chose with his own free will to reject staying permanently in that village of his to keep traveling with them instead.

Suigetsu didn't miss the look of disappointment the blonde couldn't quite hide. He also didn't miss the smirk of satisfaction Karin couldn't—knowing her, wasn't _trying_ _to_—mask; or the small smile that curved Sasuke's lips as soon as he saw it.

It was hard to point out when the whole deal had started; the deal with Sasuke and Karin, Suigetsu means.

Of course, now that he looks back to it Suigetsu notices all too clearly how Sasuke—deliberately or not. Consciously or not—always took Karin's side over his whenever they argued, even if Suigetsu was right or not. As for Karin, Suigetsu has always been aware of how Karin feels about Sasuke; it was hard not to be, when she was softer, warmer and not as brutal on her experiments every time she came from seeing him.

But Sasuke? Sasuke surprised him for sure.

Though Suigetsu thinks that Sasuke is the one who will be most surprised once he notices the way he has been treating Karin lately; Suigetsu isn't too sure he is aware of it himself.

With a frown and a ferocious scowl, Karin swiftly turned on her heels and marched out of the door. "Fuck this! I'm outta here!"

Mentally, Suigetsu counted to four.

_Four… _

Surprised, Sasuke stared after her departing form even as the door banged loudly against the walls with the force of the impact.

_Three…_

Sasuke closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath and massaging his temple with two pale fingers.

_Two…_

A sigh.

_One…_

Sasuke opened his eyes and turned towards them.

"I'm going to go looking for her. It's not safe for her to be wandering around these streets when we just got here; wait for us here. Don't do anything stupid"

Suigetsu doesn't bother saying anything, but Juugo is always hopeful—and naïve.

"Do you need some help to look for her?"

"No. You two stay here, I'll manage"

And with a slight wave of a hand, Sasuke is out of the room.

Suigetsu snorts under his breath, Juugo looks at him with reproach.

"What? Are you going to tell me that this hasn't gotten ridiculous lately, Juugo?"

The bird-boy, as Karin called him, frowned.

"…I don't know _what_—"

"Oh, come on. It's bloody obvious; even you had to caught up on it as well"

Juugo remains silent. Suigetsu snorts again.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter. As long as they don't go at it like rabbits in front of us, I don't care what they want to do with each other."

"…I don't think this is quite like you think it is"

Suigetsu opens his eyes, arches one eyebrow. Juugo takes the hint, and continues.

"Unlike you, I don't think Karin is doing this on purpose. If anything, I believe her mood changes are because she is getting tired of Sasuke's behavior herself"

"…_And_?"

Juugo sighs.

"What's obvious for us isn't obvious for him. Sasuke might be smart in many areas, but the heart isn't one of them. Karin is a girl, she's probably tired of waiting and wants him to take a hint"

"And you know this much about the subject how…? The birds told you a story or two? Do they go and spy on them whenever they're gone?"

Juugo averts his eyes.

Suigetsu chokes on his laughter.

-

* * *

Didn't know where to end it, so that'll have to do. Like I said before, I hope you all were able to enjoy it, and as always, I'll be looking forward to your thoughts so please do take the time to review!


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